Work Text:
Tsumugi wasn't so sure if Sougo making an agreement with Yaotome Gaku was heaven sent or just another torture for her. They have been busy with their own activities that a certain issue hasn't crossed her mind for a while until the idol brought their Hatsumode agreement with their rival group up during one of their day offs. Their own issue aside, the idea of spending the night to celebrate New Years Eve, relax and spend Hatsumode together on the first day of the new year was something she thought would help everyone unwind and relax. Forgetting all other issues, she agreed on the idea and quickly rabbit chat her manager friend, Anesagi Kaoru, TRIGGERs Manager so that they can both fix their artists schedule and make both ends meet on that date.
When she told everyone about the plan Nagi couldn't hide his excitement. He was ecstatic. He was going to experience a wonderful event; something he had only seen on shows and read in books from their library in Northmare. The other boys were thrilled as well as this was another private activity they can all enjoy together. Yamato quipped that as long he was with his members even if it was afterwork he wouldnt feel tired.
On the night they all rendezvoused, greetings were exchanged at the park and they all marched together to the temple. Despite the constant reminder not to clump up together so they wouldn't stand out that much from their managers and Iori the boys just couldn't as they were all having conversations from left and right.
Takanashi Tsumugi watched her talents excitedly talk about what they look forward to this year with the members of TRIGGER. Her eyes would fleetingly glance at a particular man yelling jokingly at Riku who had accidentally tripped for the fourth time on the steps up the shrine. After their last conversation in that conference room she has been religiously trying to keep her distance from Yaotome Gaku. If they were to meet at work they would always be at arms length and only talked to each other when necessary. Even when she came up to them earlier they could only exchange short stiff greetings as if they had just met.
It was honestly a tough year for her both physically and emotionally but it wasn't just for her but for idolish7 and the others as well.
As a manager she was strong and true to her words. She was able to separate her feelings from work and personal life. She and Gaku had zero interaction unless they were at work together. Her high level of professionalism kept her going. But as a woman she was barely hanging but she still did her best. There was always a small part of her that still wavered and yearned for that feeling of being able to freely talk to him with no restraints and casually call him by his first name.
It was truly unfortunate that an issue had to break them apart and they were no longer just Tsumugi and Gaku. He was back to Yaotome Production TRIGGERs Leader Yaotome Gaku and she was Idolish7 Manager Takanashi Tsumugi from Takanashi Production.
"Cool! There are still a lot of shops open everymhppff" Iori clamped a hand on Rikus mouth and sighed for the nth time.
"Nanase-san stop drawing more attention!" He hissed and let go of the red haired center. He quickly apologized to the people who were staring at them and quickly ushered Riku to move.
"Sorry, Sorry!" Riku scratched the back of his head and looked back at the couple of food stalls lined up at the side. "Ah, Tenn-nii's buying takoyaki!! Te-mmmmffffh!!"
"There's even some Yakisoba and Meatbuns! Sou-chan Ryu-aniki Let's go!"
"Huh? Tamaki-kun w-wait!"
"AHAHAHA... Aren't you a little excited Tamaki-kun?"
"WONDERFUL! MITSUKI LOOK, MY OMIKUJI SAYS I HAVE GREAT LUCK!"
"Ugh...mine says little."
"OH! Little like your height?"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!?"
"Everyone please don't scatter too far!!" Tsumugi reminded them but it was completely useless as almost everyone had went on their own directions.
They all had managed to visit the shrine, offer their prayers earlier and finally head out to get some refreshment at the stalls after waiting in line for a couple of hours.
"Seriously, these idiots are a handful." Anesagi huffed as she pulled out her scarf from her branded shoulder bag and wrap it around her neck. "Aren't you cold, Takanashi-san?" She asked as she noticed her blonde manager friends cheeks starting to grow red from the cold.
"Ah, I'm fine.."She said as she pulled her coat closer to her body and watched Nagi run towards another stall while carrying a stick of cotton candy and a plate of Takoyaki and Mitsuki running after him. "The temperature is suddenly dropping, right?"
"Yes and it was just warm enough earlier--Ah Ryu!! Ugh, honestly this boy" Anesagi groaned. "Wait a minute Takanashi-san. I'll be back." She said as she saw Ryuu slowly getting mobbed by a group of ladies asking if he's TRIGGERs ero ero beast, Tsunashi Ryuunosuke. Tsumugi giggled as she watched her friend shoo the ladies away and do her job as the groups manager. She rubbed her hands together and blow on them lightly while waiting for the older manager to return.
"So cold..."
Gaku glanced at Tsumugi who was left alone at the bench and saw her shiver from the sudden drop of the temperature. She wasn't moving at all and was just watching everyone with her eyes. It goes without saying she'll feel much colder than the others and it didnt seem like she brought a scarf along with her to keep her warm. If there wasn't any rumors and issue they were trying to avoid he would have sat down beside her and warmed her up in a jiffy but of course he couldn't do that at all.
"Oi, Nikaido... come with me for a minute." He said and before the four eyed leader could even respond he was already getting dragged by the collar by the silver haired idol.
"Yaotome! Stop pulling!! " Yamato said as he finally freed himself from Gaku. They stopped infront of rows of vending machines and looked at him confusedly "Are you planning on drinking at this hour?"
"Stupid, my mom would kill me if I came to her house with a hangover tomorrow." Gaku said as he pulled out a couple of coins from his pocket and slotted them into the machine one by one. He began picking a couple of warm drinks from corn soups to hot teas and lining them up on the ground.
"That's a lot? Are you okay?"
"I'm treating you guys..."
"Umm, with a 120 yen corn soup?? Yeey. Yaotome Gaku-kun is so cool." Yamato deadpanned as he got a corn soup from Gaku.
"Shut up and get me a plastic bag from one of the shops" Gaku grumbled. " We can't carry all these hot drinks."
"No way...Oho! perfect timing." Yamato said as he saw Riku and Tenn passing by. "Riku can I have that plastic bag where your Yakisoba is? Onii-san will give you something great in return."
"Hmm? Yamato-san, Yaotome-san?" The red head smiled and jogged towards them " It's fine I can put this yakisoba in Te..I mean Kujou-sans bag." He quickly corrected himself as an old couple passed by.
"Thanks and here you go." He said as he picked up two hot tea from the line of drinks Gaku had dispensed from the machine and handed them over to the twins. "It's this guys treat actually."
"Gaku did?" Tenn blinked several times and looked at his member who sighed heavily and nodded his head in confirmation.
"Its starting to get chilly...think of it as a small new years gift."
"Hmm...Where's Takanashi-san? "He asked, ignoring Gaku.
"O-oi, damn brat are even listening? It's a gift. "
Tenn smiled and counted the drinks with his eye. It was more than the usual number for just the boys. He deduced that Anesagi and Tsumugi were counted as well. "Fine. Thank you Gaku. Don't get exposed" He said. "Let's go Riku .."
"E-exposed?! Wh-what are you saying?" Gaku was slightly taken aback. "Oi Tenn!!" He called as he watched the two centers walk away from them and saw Tenn gave him a i-know-what-you're-planning-look before they disappeared at the corner.
"Yaotome..."
Gaku slowly looked back at the observing eyes of Idolish7s leader.
"Our manager...."He lifted his glasses and stared at the silver haired leader who immediately stiffen at the mention of Idolish7s manager. "You're doing this for our manager aren't you?" He crossed his chest as Gaku finally sighed in defeat. It looks like Tenn actually blew his cover up.
"She looked cold earlier so.... I thought some warm drinks would warm her up while she looks after you guys..."Gaku said softly, there was a hint of sadness lingering in his voice that didnt go unnoticed. "Sorry, I was going to use these drinks as an excuse to talk to her..."
Yamato watched Gaku as he looked away to hide that tiny tinged of red dusting his cheeks. He sighed and started putting the warm drinks in the bag one by one. "Okay, okay. I'll help you out this time."
"For real?!"
"But you owe me a real drink. Not a damn corn soup!"
Tsumugi glanced down her wrist watch and noted how twenty minutes had passed since Anesagi had left her. Banri and her father had disappeared too after they insisted she rest for a while since she had been working nonstop for days.
She was about to leave her spot and look for Anesagi when Yamato came rushing to her.
"Manager!" He called out and stopped infront of her. "Here's a little gift from someone make sure you drink it" He said quickly and handed her the hot bottle of lemon tea and a small note. "Onii-san will go look for the others so you can relax, take a sip and warm yourself up."
Yamato left Tsumugi with no chance to reply as he quickly disappeared from her sight and left her alone again with just the drink and a small note that came along with it in her hand.
"What?....Yamato-san seems like he's in a hurry? Did something happened? Or does he need to go to the bathroom? " She wondered as she sat back down. "It's so warm..." She lightly giggled to herself and brought the drink to her warm her cold cheeks. "Oh right, there's a note that came with this drink" She said and put the drink beside her and opened the note up.
'I hope this helps you feel even a bit warmer, Tsumugi. Thank you for bearing with me and the others and once again I hope you'd still look after me this year too.
I miss talking to you.
Gaku'
"Happy New Year, Tsumugi. "
The blonde was startled by the familiar voice and looked back to see a dark grey coat peeking out from behind the tree she and the bench were situated on. Gaku was hiding behind the tree.
"Ga...I mean Yaotome-san?" She softly called and put a hand on her heart that was suddenly racing in an incredible speed. She didn't know why but Gaku had always had this kind of effect on her.
"Call me...I mean, please call me Gaku..." He said as he leaned on the bark of the tree separating him from the only girl he was genuinely interest in. "When it's just really the two of us, please call me Gaku again. Is it okay for me to call you Tsumugi again, Takanashi-san?"
Tsumugi pursed her lips and remained silent as she thought about it. Her thoughts were starting to scatter all over the place again. This was the first time in a while she's alone with the person she missed a lot. They have been in a so close yet so far situation for the past couple of months so this felt new to her again.
"I guess it's still impossible huh..."Gaku said with a resigned sigh as he hadn't heard any response from Tsumugi.
Her eyes widened and shooked her head. "No! No, it's fine. I mean you can call me by my name." Tsumugi said "Gaku...san" Her cheeks slowly warmed up the moment she mustered his given name again. It felt like a thorn from her throat has been slowly pulled out as she was able to called him by his name.
A small satisfied smile formed on Gakus lips and shoved his hands inside his pocket. Hearing her call him by his name shyly reminded him of that time at the cafe. Somehow it gave him comfort. It warmed him in a way no other person can.
Even if he couldn't see her or look at her at the moment he could already imagine what face she was making. A cute flushed Tsumugi sitting behind him and he was right.
"Oh yeah, make sure to drink the tea and warm youself up, Tsumugi."
"Yes, thank you Gaku-san. " She nodded as a tear unknowingly rolled down her cheeks. "Huh?" She touched her cheeks and sniffed "Why am i crying?"
Gakus eyes widened and quickly turned to see Tsumugis back. She looked small as ever and he wasn't sure if she was shaking because she was crying or because of the chilly temperature.
"Hey, are you alright? Did I say something wrong? Was I asking you too much? I- I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you cry" Millions of questions started to flood Gakus mind as he watched her wipe her tears.
She shooked her head and giggled lightly. "No, I-I'm...just happy that I'm finally able to talk to you like this again even if we can't look at each other face right now."
"Tsumugi..." His eyes softened and leaned back on the tree as he realized their feelings were mutual. "Me too. This moment is...more than enough for now."
Tsumugi wiped the last of her tears dry and stared at the warm drink in her hand. "Somehow because of you this cold weather has warmed me up. Thank you Gaku-san. "
"Then that's great."
Tsumugi smiled and looked back behind her to see Gaku fist pumping for joy before gazing back at the food stalls. "Happy New Year. Please look after me this year too." She closed her eyes as she held the warm drink in her hands and imagined Gakus smile and that was enough to keep her going.
Gaku chuckled and smiled. "Of course. You can count on me, Tsumugi."
From afar, Anesagi clucked her tongue playfully and crossed her arms across her chest. She smiled proudly at Gaku and Tsumugi from a far. "For an idiot that's a smooth move." she chuckled.
Sitting a few benches away from the two who had finally engaged in another small talk, she observed them with a smile while enjoying the warm corn soup Gaku handed over to her earlier on the way to meet Tsumugi.
"I'm happy for you Takanashi-san."
They were still so close yet so far but hopefully this was the first step for them to find another way to be together.
"Oh, look Yuki, Maneko-chan and Gaku are having a date~"
"Momo, we shouldn't disturb them."
"Guess you're right. But let me snap a photo of them first!"
"The two of you let's get going. I bumped into Ogami-san earlier."
"Oh, Ban is also here?"
"Yey! Let's meet up with Ban-san and everyone."